This relates to massively parallel processors and, in particular, to improvements in the methods and apparatus first disclosed in the above-referenced '471 and '474 applications and U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,400.
As shown in FIG. 1A of the '400 patent which is reproduced in FIG. 1, the computer system of those applications comprises a mainframe computer 10, a microcontroller 20, an array 30 of parallel processing integrated circuits 35, a data source 40, a first buffer and multiplexer/demultiplexer 50, first, second, third and fourth bidirectional bus control circuits 60, 65, 70, 75, a second buffer and multiplexer/demultiplexer 80, and a data sink 90. Mainframe computer 10 may be a suitably programmed commercially available general purpose computer such as a VAX (TM) computer manufactured by Digital Equipment Corp. Microcontroller 20 is an instruction sequencer of conventional design for generating a sequence of instructions that are applied to array 30 by means of a thirty-two bit parallel bus 22. Microcontroller 20 receives from array 30 a signal on line 26. This signal is a general purpose or GLOBAL signal that can be used for data output and status information. Bus 22 and line 26 are connected in parallel to each IC 35. As a result, signals from microcontroller 20 are applied simultaneously to each IC 35 in array 30 and the signal applied to microcontroller 20 on line 26 is formed by combining the signal outputs from all of ICs 35 of the array.
Array 30 contains thousands of identical ICs 35; and each IC 35 contains several identical processor/memories 36. In the embodiment disclosed in the '400 patent, it is indicated that the array may contain up to 32,768 (=2.sup.15) identical ICs 35; and each IC 35 may contain 32 (=2.sup.5) identical processor/memories 36. At the time of filing of this application for patent, arrays containing up to 4096 (=2.sup.12) identical ICs 35 containing 16 (=2.sup.4) identical processor/memories each have been manufactured and shipped by the assignee as Connection Machine (TM) computers.
Processor/memories 36 are organized and interconnected in two geometries. One geometry is a conventional two-dimensional grid pattern in which the processor/memories are organized in a rectangular array and connected to their four nearest neighbors in the array. For convenience, the sides of this array are identified as NORTH, EAST, SOUTH and WEST. To connect each processor/memory to its four nearest neighbors, the individual processor/memories are connected by electrical conductors between adjacent processor/memories in each row and each column of the grid.
The second geometry is that of a Boolean n-cube of fifteen dimensions. To understand the n-cube connection pattern, it is helpful to number the ICs from 0 to 32,767 and to express these numbers or addresses in binary notation using fifteen binary digits. Just as we can specify the position of an object in a two dimensional grid by using two numbers, one of which specifies its position in the first dimension of the two-dimensional grid and the other which specifies it position in the second dimension, so too we can use a number to identify the position of an IC in each of the fifteen dimensions of the Boolean 15-cube. In an n-cube, however, an IC can have one of only two different positions, 0 and 1, in each dimension. Thus, the fifteen-digit IC address in binary notation can be and is used to specify the IC's position in the fifteen dimensions of the n-cube. Moreover, because a binary digit can have only two values, zero or one, and because each IC is identified uniquely by fifteen binary digits, each IC has fifteen other ICs whose binary address differs by only one digit from its own address. We will refer to these fifteen ICs whose binary address differs by only one from that of a first IC as the first IC's nearest neighbors. Those familiar with the mathematical definition of a Hamming distance will recognize that the first IC is separated from each of its fifteen nearest neighbors by the Hamming distance one.
To connect ICs 35 of the above-referenced applications in the form of a Boolean 15-cube, each IC is connected to its fifteen nearest neighbors by 15 input lines 38 and fifteen output lines 39. Each of these fifteen input lines 38 to each IC 35 is associated with a different one of the fifteen dimensions of the Boolean 15-cube and likewise each of the fifteen output lines 39 from each IC 35 is associated with a different dimension. Specific details of the connection wiring for the Boolean n-cube are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,091 referenced above. To permit communication through the interconnection pattern of the Boolean 15-cube, the results of computations are organized in the form of message packets; and these packets are routed from one IC to the next by routing circuitry in each IC in accordance with address information that is part of the packet.
An illustrative processor/memory 36 is disclosed in greater detail in FIG. 2 which is the same as FIG. 7A of the '400 patent. As shown in FIG. 2, the processor/memory comprises 32.times.12 bit random access memory (RAM) 250, arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 280 and flag controller 290. The ALU operates on data from three sources, two registers in the RAM and one flag input, and produces two outputs, a sum output that is written into one of the RAM registers and a carry output that is made available to certain registers in the flag controller as well as to certain other processor/memories.
The inputs to RAM 250 are address busses 152, 154, 156, 158, a sum output line 285 from ALU 270, the message packet input line 122 from communication interface unit (CIU) 180 of FIG. 6B of U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,973 and a WRITE ENABLE line 298 from flag controller 290. The outputs from RAM 250 are lines 256, 257. The signals on lines 256, 257 are obtained from the same column of two different registers in RAM 250, one of which is designed Register A and the other Register B. Busses 152, 154, 156, 158 address these registers and the columns therein in accordance with the instruction words from microcontroller 20.
Flag controller 290 is an array of eight one-bit D-type flip-flops 292, a two-out-of-sixteen selector 294 and some logic gates. The inputs to flip-flops 292 are a carry output signal from ALU 280, a WRITE ENABLE signal on line 298 from selector 294, and the eight lines of bus 172 from programmable logic array (PLA) 150 of FIG. 6B of the '474 application. Lines 172 are address lines each of which is connected to a different one of flip-flops 292 to select the one flip-flop into which a flag bit is to be written. The outputs of flip-flops 292 are applied to selector 294.
The inputs to selector 294 are up to sixteen flag signal lines 295, eight of which are from flip-flops 292, and the sixteen lines each of busses 174, 176. Again, lines 174 and 176 are address lines which select one of the flag signal lines for output or further processing. Selector 294 provides outputs on lines 296 and 297 that are whichever flags have been selected by address lines 174 and 176, respectively. The flags are defined in detail in Table IV of the '400 patent.
ALU 280 comprises a one-out-of-eight decoder 282, a sum output selector 284 and a carry output selector 286. As detailed in the '474 application, this enables it to produce sum and carry outputs for many functions including ADD, logical OR and logical AND. ALU 280 operates on three bits at a time, two on lines 256, 257 from Registers A and B in RAM 250 and one on line 296 from flag controller 290. The ALU has two outputs: a sum on line 285 that is written into Register A of RAM 250 and a carry on line 287 that may be written into a flag register 292 and applied to the North, East, South, West and DAISY inputs of the other processor/memories 36 to which this processor/memory is connected.
Each integrated circuit 35 also includes certain supervisory circuitry for the processor/memories on the IC and a routing circuit 200 for connecting the IC to its nearest neighbor ICs in the Boolean n-cube. As disclosed in the '400 patent, the supervisory circuitry comprises a timing generator 140, a programmable logic array 150 for decoding instructions received from microcontroller 20 and providing decoded instructions to the processor/memories of the IC, and a communications interface 180 which controls the flow of outgoing and incoming message packets between the processor/memories of an IC and the routing circuit associated with that IC.
Routing circuit 200 controls the routing of message packets to and from nearest neighbor ICs in the Boolean n-cube. As shown in FIG. 6B of the '400 patent, circuit 200 comprises a line assigner 205, a message detector 210, a buffer and address restorer 215 and a message injector 220. Line assigner 205 has fifteen input lines 38 from the fifteen nearest neighbors of that particular IC and fifteen output lines 39 to the same fifteen nearest neighbors. Line assigner 205 also has fifteen message output lines 206 to message detector 210 and fifteen message input lines 207 from message injector 220. Line assigner 205 analyzes the addresses of message packets received on incoming lines 38 to determine whether they are directed to this particular IC or some other IC; it routes the message packets toward their destination if possible; and it stores any message packet destined for this IC as well as any message packet that cannot be routed on because of a conflict in circuit allocation.
Message detector 210 checks for the receipt of message packets, examines the address of the message packets received on lines 207 from line assigner 205 and supplies those message packets addressed to this IC to communications interface 180. Buffer and address restorer 215 comprise a tapped shift register. The output of the buffer and address restorer is applied to the message injector 220. Message injector 220 injects a single message packet at a time from communications interface 180 into the group of message packets circulating through the routing circuit.